School food award dished out to eleven schools in York

The Lord Mayor of York Cllr David Horton, who attended the award ceremony held at The Guildhall, said:

"I'm delighted to attend the Food for Life Partnership York awards ceremony and see schools collecting their well deserved awards. I've visited a Food for Life Partnership school in York and seen first hand the positive difference good food culture can make. Young people in these schools are cooking, growing and eating fresh, seasonal, local and organic food, and reconnecting with the farms that produce their food. These youngsters and their parents are celebrating good food and best of all it’s giving them what will probably be some of the most enjoyable experiences of their school lives."

Caroline Ryder, headteacher at Carr Junior School, who spoke at the event and picked up the school’s award said:

“Since embarking on our Food for Life Partnership journey there have been lots of beneficial changes at the school. We now have a teaching kitchen where children and adults can learn to cook healthy food. We grow our own fruit and veg and even have a small orchard. Lots of the children have really benefitted from the therapeutic aspects of growing and this has impacted positively on attainment and application in the classroom.”

Jeanette Orrey, school meals policy advisor for the Food for Life Partnership, emphasised how much has happened in the school food arena since she co-founded the original school food campaign with the Soil Association back in 2003. She said:

“When we started campaigning for better school dinners we had no idea that more than 4,200 schools would have joined the campaign, and not only improve their school dinners, but also to embrace food education. We must make sure that all this good work carries on and that the Coalition Government makes a good, healthy and sustainable food culture in schools and their communities a priority.”

Libby Grundy, co-director of the Food for Life Partnership said:

"These schools show what real 21st century education is all about, which is using real life experiences to teach the curriculum and providing the next generation with solutions to what threatens their future, namely climate change and the obesity crisis. By empowering young people to make informed food choices and giving them the skills to grow and cook food for themselves and their families, Food for Life Partnership schools lead the way for a more sustainable future."

Awarded Schools

Carr Infants School - York, North Yorkshire
Carr Junior School - York
Clifton With Rawcliffe Primary School - York, North Yorkshire
Derwent Schools Federation - York
Dringhouses Primary School - York
Naburn CE Primary School - York
St Aelred's Roman Catholic Primary School - York
St Barnabas C of E Primary - York
St Wilfrid's RC Primary School - York
Wigginton Primary School - Wigginton, York
Woodthorpe Primary School - York